Can I take painkillers before or after a COVID-19 vaccine?
It is best to avoid it unless you regularly take it to a medical condition. Although the evidence is limited, some painkillers may interfere with the thing the vaccine is trying to do: generate a strong immune system.
Vaccinations work by tricking the body into thinking it has a virus and defending against it. It can cause arm pain, fever, headache, muscle aches or other temporary symptoms of inflammation that may be part of the reaction.
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“These symptoms mean that your immune system is recovering and that the vaccine is working,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a recent newsletter.
Certain painkillers that target inflammation, including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and other brands), may limit the immune response. A study on mice in the Journal of Virology found that these drugs can reduce the production of antibodies – useful substances that can infect the virus against cells.
If you are already using any of the medications for a health condition, do not stop before you get the vaccine – at least not without asking your doctor, said Jonathan Watanabe, pharmacist at the University of California, Irvine.
People should not take a painkiller as a preventative measure before getting a vaccine unless a doctor has told them to. The same goes for a shot: “If you do not have to take it, do not do it,” Watanabe said.
If you need one, paracetamol (Tylenol) is “safer because it does not alter your immune response,” he added.
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The CDC offers other tips, such as holding a cool, wet washcloth over the lap and exercising the arm. Drink plenty of fluids for fever and dress lightly.
Call your doctor if redness or tenderness in the arm increases after a day, or if side effects do not go away after a few days, says the CDC.